


The Darkness Within

by Marvelous_Writer



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, FebuWhump2021, Febuwhump, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, IronDad and SpiderSon, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Mind Control, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, febuwhumpday1, febuwhumpday2, febuwhumpday3, whumpy, ”i can’t take this anymore”
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:53:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29209176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marvelous_Writer/pseuds/Marvelous_Writer
Summary: In which Peter comes face to face with his greatest nightmares when he comes into contact with a certain symbiote.Febuwhump Day 1-3: mind control, “I can’t take this anymore” and imprisonment
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, More tags to be added - Relationship, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2144580
Comments: 14
Kudos: 55





	The Darkness Within

Peter’s at school in the cafeteria on Wednesday when the news breaks of the first discovery of alien life. He and Ned are sitting next to each other, hunched over Peter’s phone, reading the news article on the cracked screen, oblivious to the loud voices and sounds of the lunchroom around them. 

“Whoa…” Ned breathes out in awe as they come across a blurry photo of what looks to be a normal, black puddle of goo. 

“Yeah,” Peter agrees with a grin as he pinches the screen to zoom in further on the photo. “I can’t believe this thing hitched a ride on one of NASA’s space shuttles.” 

“How do you think it got on there?” Ned asks, brows pulling together as he leans in closer, squinting to get a better look. “Dude, this is so cool! Where do you think they’re going to keep it?” 

Peter shrugs. “I don’t know. Hopefully somewhere secure. I’m sure people are going to want to steal it or something.” 

The article didn’t say anything about where the ooze was being taken, or where it’s being held for now, which is probably a good thing since no one knows what this thing is. NASA has been searching for life beyond Earth for _years,_ and the last thing they need is for it to get stolen before they can even study it and figure out what it is and where it came from. 

“You two are such nerds,” MJ says in an amused tone from her usual spot a few seats down from them. “It’s just a mud stain on the side of the shuttle.” 

Ned sputters as he whips his head over at her. “It’s not a _mud stain_ —it’s organic, _living_ mud from outer space!” 

MJ raises an eyebrow, giving them an unimpressed look before she goes back to her book. “Still mud to me.” She says with a shrug. 

“Mud? _Mud?”_ Ned says in disbelief, shaking his head to himself. “How dare she. The poor little guy is so misunderstood.” 

Peter smiles, rolling his eyes goodnaturedly as Ned takes his phone from him and continues studying the photo. 

…

Later that evening, Peter is sitting at his desk in his room working on homework when Tony calls. 

“Hey,” Peter greets when the call connects. 

_“Hey, kiddo. You have time to talk to your old man or are you busy?”_

Peter shakes his head, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth at that. “Just working on algebra homework… what’s up?” 

_“I have some news I think you’re going to like.”_

“Really? What is it?” Peter asks absentmindedly, brows pulling together in thought as he scribbles down his answer on one of the questions. 

_“I’m guessing you’ve heard about the black oozey alien on the news?”_

Peter nods with a small grin, scribbling down the next equation from the textbook into his notebook. “Yeah, I saw it earlier at lunch with Ned. What about it?” 

_“Well, a certain jolly-green scientist you and I both know and love has been asked to study it,”_ Tony says, clearly smiling on the other end judging by the sound of his voice. _“SHIELD and NASA made a deal that they’re going to work together studying it, exchanging notes and all that with Bruce leading the project.”_

“That’s great,” Peter says with a smile. “I’m sure he’s happy about that.” 

Bruce is one of the smartest people in the world (as well as Tony, of course) and Peter couldn’t think of a better scientist to have the honor of studying the first discovered alien life form than him. 

_“He sure is but that’s not the best part,”_ Tony says, pausing for a few seconds. _“NASA agreed to let us keep the ooze here at the compound for now while it’s being studied.”_

Peter’s mouth falls open as his eyes widen in shock. _“W-What?_ Are you _serious?”_ He asks excitedly as he drops his pencil, algebra homework long forgotten for the moment. “Is it there now? Have you _seen_ it?” 

Tony lets out a chuckle on the other end. _“No, it’s not here yet but it’s coming in on Friday. Fury’s making sure this thing is under tight security with the risk of someone trying to steal it, which is another good reason for it to be here at the compound.”_

That makes sense, given how secure the compound is with the Avengers living there and being around almost all the time, as well as the fact that the place is constantly monitored by FRIDAY. 

“Oh, man, that’s so cool!” Peter breathes out, his smile widening. 

_“It is,”_ Tony agrees. _“I was thinking since you’re coming over on Friday… do you want to see your first alien?”_

Peter feels like he’s dreaming. This can’t be real life. “Can I really?” He asks as he shoots up from his desk chair, knocking it to the floor in the process. “I-I mean, am I allowed to with all the security and everything?”

_“Of course you are. It is my building and my lab, after all.”_

Peter rolls his eyes goodnaturedly at that. “True,” he says. 

Ned’s going to freak out when he hears about this. 

…

The next two days can’t go by fast enough, but Peter soon finds himself walking in the front glass doors at the compound after Happy drops him off. He’s surprised to see that the lab is full of hard-working scientists in white lab coats, some of them with the SHIELD logo on the side of their sleeves. A few of them are hunched over microscopes, while others seem to be looking over data on tablets, conversing with each other as Peter awkwardly makes his way around the large space, careful not to bump into anyone or any of the equipment. He doesn’t remember the labs being this busy before. 

He finds Tony and Bruce talking in the back as they stand in front of a glass containment unit, peering at whatever is inside. Peter’s stomach twists with excitement as he walks over to them. 

Tony turns to Peter with a smile when he sees him coming over. “Hey, kiddo how was school?” 

“Good,” Peter says with a smile as he steps closer to the glass, gasping when he catches sight of something black sitting in the center. “Is that it?” 

“Yup, that’s it alright. Pete, meet our little oozey alien friend.” Tony says with a grin as he looks inside again. 

“You mean _V-252.”_ Bruce corrects him with a small smile as he types something onto his tablet. 

“Whoa, cool name,” Peter says in awe as he peers in at the black creature, seeing it wiggling around almost like water. “Have you found out anything about it?” 

“Well, nothing yet but from what we can tell, it seems to have a sensitivity to cold temperatures, so we’re going to be keeping its containment cell a little colder than it likes to keep it placid,” Bruce says as he looks up from his tablet. “We don’t want to risk it escaping.” 

Peter nods. “Yeah, that wouldn’t be good.” 

“No it wouldn’t,” Tony agrees, brows pulling together as he continues to look at the slimy creature. “there’s no telling what this thing’s capable of.” 

“Isn’t it just a living organism?” Peter asks. 

“Well _theoretically,_ yes but we’re not certain what type yet,” Bruce says. “But I’m thinking that if we can stabilize it… it could be a new element that could be added to the periodic table, which would be the first that’s been added in years.” 

“Wow, really?” Peter asks with a smile. “That would be so cool.” 

And it would be another accomplishment to add to Bruce’s career, as well as the other scientists working on the project. 

“I know. Hopefully, if all goes well, of course.” Bruce says with a nervous smile. 

Tony places a reassuring hand on the scientist’s shoulder. “It will. You’ll be adding another Nobel prize to your collection in no time.” 

Bruce chuckles. “Well, I wouldn’t go that far. We have a long way to go and we have to study the V-252 first.” 

Tony scoffs. “I still think it should be called something else.” 

Bruce shakes his head with a small smile as he goes back to looking at his tablet. “NASA named it, not me.” 

“True,” Tony says with an exasperated sigh before turning to Peter. “How about you and I head up to the kitchen and I’ll whip you up a snack? We can watch a movie until it's time to head up to the cabin.” 

“Sure,” Peter says with a smile as Tony wraps an arm around his shoulder. “Good luck with your research, Bruce.”

“Thank you, Peter,” Bruce says with a smile. 

Tony steers Peter away from the containment unit and Peter looks over his shoulder to get one last glimpse of the ooze before it’s out of his sight. 

He misses the way it lashes out at the glass in front of it as he goes. 

…

On Monday the following week, Ned leans in closer to Peter from his desk in English. “You mean you actually _saw_ it?” he whispers excitedly. 

“Yeah,” Peter whispers back with a grin. 

“What did it look like?”

Peter raises an eyebrow at him. “Like a black puddle of ooze.” 

Ned rolls his eyes, still smiling. “Well _yeah,_ but like, did it look weird or anything?” 

Peter shrugs as he flips the page of his copy of _To Kill A Mockingbird_ that they’re currently reading in class. “I guess so. It kind of moves like water, wiggling around and stuff. It’s kind of creepy.” 

“Whoa,” Ned breathes out. 

“Dr. Banner thinks it might have a possibility of being added to the periodic table too,” Peter whispers. 

Ned’s eyes widen comically at that. _“What?!_ No way that’s-”

 _“Ned and Peter._ There shouldn’t be any talking during reading time.” Mrs. Regan says suddenly, causing both their heads to snap in her direction, seeing that she’s standing by her desk with a stern expression on her face. 

They utter apologies and share a nervous glance before returning to their books. 

  
…

  
Peter convinces Tony into letting him come up to the compound the following day so he can get another look at the ooze, as well as bring his suit in for some upgrades. But unfortunately, the lab is locked up and closed because Bruce ended up letting everyone go home early for the day with how bad it started snowing outside, which was pretty nice of him. 

“Sorry you weren’t able to get in the lab, Pete,” Tony apologizes as he takes a seat on the couch. “I’d let you in but I don’t want to interfere with Bruce’s lab rules. No one goes in there without his permission and I don’t want to be on his bad side.” He says with a chuckle. 

Peter shrugs with a smile. “It’s okay, not like I haven’t seen it already. Maybe I can see it again on Friday?” 

“So you just want to come here to see your little alien friend now, huh? Have I been replaced?” Tony asks, placing a hand on his chest. 

Peter laughs as he shakes his head. “Never,” he says. 

Tony smiles as he turns to the TV as the news coverage of the snowstorm plays on the screen. They’re only supposed to get a few inches, but now it seems like the storm intensified and will be close to a foot of snow now. It’s bad enough that school closings are already being reported at the bottom of the screen on the ticker. 

“It looks like you might have a snow day tomorrow,” Tony says as he squints, trying to read the school names as they quickly slide by. “Most of the schools in the city are already calling it, so I’m gonna guess Midtown will be too.” 

“I should probably text May and make sure she got out of work okay,” Peter says as he pulls his phone out of his hoodie pocket. 

“Yeah, good idea. I’ll give Pep a call and see how things are looking at the house.” Tony says as he pushes himself up from the couch, heading into the kitchen to retrieve his phone. 

Peter scrolls through his emails and finds a new message sent from Midtown at the top of the page. “I got an email from my school—they’re closed tomorrow.” He calls over his shoulder as he opens his message app and starts to type out his message to May: _Looks like we’re getting a pretty bad snowstorm tonight. Schools canceled tomorrow!! 😀☃️ Drive safe! 😘_

Three dots appear before May texts back a few seconds later: _I got home a little bit ago. This weather is crazy! 🥶❄️ Are you still at the compound?_

Peter types out his reply: _Yeah_

May texts back a few seconds later: _The roads are getting bad so you might have to spend the night there._

“Hey,” Peter says as he looks over the back at the couch at Tony, who’s on the phone talking to Pepper. “May says the roads are getting bad.” 

Tony frowns as he turns around to face the floor-to-ceiling windows across the room and sees the intense snowfall going on outside. “Yeah, we might have to spend the night here with how things are looking,” He says into the phone. “Okay… I’ll give you a call later when it’s time to tuck Morgan into bed… alright, love you too. Bye, honey.” 

Peter gets up from the couch and walks over to the windows, seeing that the snow is already accumulating on the ground. He’s disappointed they won’t be able to drive up to the cabin so he could see Morgan and Pepper, but a part of him is a little grateful that he’ll be able to get some well-needed one on one time with Tony. He doesn’t remember the last time they’ve hung out alone together without Morgan or anyone else being around. It reminds Peter of the times he’d come over the compound before the blip, back when he wasn’t as close to Tony as he is now. But he wouldn’t trade his life now for anything. Peter doesn’t remember seeing Tony this happy before, and that’s all thanks to Pepper and Morgan... and Gerald too, of course. 

“Well,” Tony says with a sigh once he’s off the phone. “Since it looks like we’re snowed in here and you have no school tomorrow, how about we make some good old fashioned homemade pizza and binge-watch movies?” 

Peter nods with a smile. “Sounds good to me.” 

  
…

  
To Peter’s surprise, dinner turns out pretty good—not that he ever doubted Tony’s cooking skills. He remembers the way his mentor cooked before the blip and… let’s just say the food wasn’t exactly _edible_ at times. But now, Tony’s pretty much an expert in the kitchen and Peter doesn’t think he’s ever had pizza that good before in his entire life.

It’s close to midnight when they’re watching a movie in the living room when all of the lights and the TV suddenly turn off with no warning. 

Peter flinches into the back of the couch. “W-What happened?”

Tony sighs from beside him. “The storm must have knocked the power out. The backup generators should kick on in a minute,” he says as he stands up from the couch, stretching his arms over his head with a yawn as the emergency lights flicker to life. 

They wait for a few moments, but the power still hasn’t kicked back on. 

“Fri, you with us?” Tony asks, only to receive silence in response. “FRIDAY?” He repeats more firmly. Still silence. “Shit.” 

Peter’s eyes widen as he looks up at Tony, able to see the worried expression on his face in the glow of the dim lights. His spider-sense hums lowly in warning at the back of his neck and dread pools in the pit of Peter’s stomach. If the power’s out… that means their defenses are down, as well as their means of communication, and Tony’s suits are locked up in his personal lab that can only be opened with a biometric hand scanner. 

“Tony…” Peter says, trying to keep his voice from shaking as he tosses the blanket off himself and stands up from the couch, wincing in pain when his senses kick it up a few notches. “Something’s wrong. Like… really, _really_ wrong.” 

Tony frowns as his worried eyes meet Peter’s in the semi-darkness. “Your spidey sense going off?” 

Peter nods. “Yeah.” 

Tony’s lips draw into a thin line as he runs a hand through his hair. “Uhh… okay. Here’s the plan—I’m going to try to get the power back on. Someone might be trying to break in, or this might be nothing at all. But I’m playing it safe, so I want you to stay here—”

“But I can help! What if it’s someone trying to break in?”

“That’s exactly why you’re staying here.” 

“But—” 

_“Peter,”_ Tony says in a raised, firm voice. “You’re staying here and that’s _final._ Do you understand me?” 

Peter heaves out a sigh as his shoulders drop. “Yes.” He grumbles. 

“Good. I’ll be right back.” Tony says before he turns away and towards the stairwell by the kitchen before he’s out of sight. 

Peter stands in silence for a few moments, straining his ears to hear the sounds of Tony’s footsteps echoing through the stairwell until he can no longer hear them. 

_I’m not just going to sit here and do nothing._ Peter thinks to himself as he quickly walks around the couch and grabs his backpack where he left it earlier, hastily changing out of his pajamas and into his suit. 

_“Good evening, Peter.”_ Karen’s cheerful voice greets him when the HUD comes to life in his mask. 

“Hey, Karen. Can you scan the perimeter of the compound to see if anyone is trying to break in? The power’s out and I don’t think it’s because of the storm.” Peter tells her as he makes his way over to the stairwell.

 _“Let me see...”_ Karen says as a map of the compound pops up in the corner of the HUD. A red dot appears on the side of the building. _“It appears that a window is broken on the third floor on the south side.”_

Peter’s stomach drops as his eyes widen beneath his mask. “That’s the lab where they’re keeping the V-252.” 

Not wasting any time, he throws the door open and runs down the stairs in a flash of red and blue. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys like this so far!! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!! ☺️


End file.
